Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers: Takeaways

The Chicago Bulls dropped their first road game of the preseason on Thursday night. Despite a great offensive start and some outstanding play from bench guys, the Indiana Pacers proved to be just a little too much for Fred Hoiberg’s squad.

If you missed it, we already hit you with the important analysis and key Vines from last night’s loss. Today, we want to dig a little deeper on a few things that stood out during the second game of the preseason.

The best part of the preseason is that it gives everyone a good look at what they haven’t seen before: Rookies, bench players, guys who might end up in Europe or the D-League, new coaches and new systems. There is just so much new, but much of it is a real look at what to expect during the real games to be play in the regular season.

Hoiberg really limited the playing time of Wade and Butler, instead allowing younger players to get a longer look. The absence of Denzel Valentine also opened things up for the bench guys to have more of a chance to get real time on the court. There is never a time that an injury is good. Fortunately, Valentine won’t be gone for long and in his absence the Bulls are discovering capable players.